blogs.thescore.com

Notes and Thoughts on Tim Leiweke's Media Call

Joseph Casciaro — Tue, 21 May 2013 23:15:56 +0000

With the bevy of rumours, reports and general speculation over Bryan Colangelo’s job status running rampant over the last few weeks, we’ve already had plenty of time to assess Colangelo’s actions and words recently. On that note, I’m not going to spend any time on Colangelo’s conference call with the media from earlier today after [...]

Matthew Stafford's value has fallen, and that's a pretty wonderful thing

Sean Tomlinson — Tue, 21 May 2013 19:59:38 +0000

Matthew Stafford is an odd guy. No, not because of his innovative offseason workout habits. You party on, Matty. He’s intriguing because with OTAs beginning for most teams now and with the NFL offseason clock quickly clicking towards training camps (oh gawd move faster please thanks), projecting what Stafford we’ll see in 2013 is difficult. [...]

The Question of the Day: Where will New York City FC play?

Richard Whittall — Tue, 21 May 2013 19:03:33 +0000

This is of interest to Counter Attack as we’ve been tracking Don Garber and Dan Courtemanche’s movements in choreographing a stadium deal in Queens for a while now. There is staunch community opposition there to developing the park in Flushing, and the group in question–the Fairness Coalition of Queens–put out a statement today on the [...]

Kevin Durant donated $1 million to OKC tornado relief

Trey Kerby — Tue, 21 May 2013 20:30:41 +0000

Not much to say about this, but here’s the story, courtesy of Daily Thunder: Per the Red Cross, Kevin Durant has given a $1 million donation to the disaster relief fund. “The Red Cross relies on its donors to perform its mission in relieving human suffering following disasters,” said Janienne Bella, regional CEO in a [...]

Alex Rios: A Renaissance of Competence

Drew Fairservice — Tue, 21 May 2013 20:38:37 +0000

The 2013 is full of terrific redemption stories, most of them residing on the New York Yankees. Travis Hafner and Vernon Wells are putting together seasons many refused to believe they still had in them. Vernon Well, in particular, looks like a new man. A few changes to his swing and setup have the former [...]

The Week In Sports Happiness

Dustin Parkes — Tue, 21 May 2013 19:13:34 +0000

Spending all day – every day – immersed in sports is a bit like working at Pizza Hut and eating nothing but pizza. If one is unburdened by such matters as personal health and waistline size, pizza is a wonderful thing. Unfortunately, too much of a wonderful thing is likely to leave one no longer [...]

8 GIFs of EA Sports games on the Xbox One

Scott Johnson — Tue, 21 May 2013 18:31:59 +0000

Here are 8 GIFs of pre-rendered cut scenes that EA Sports showed off today, highlighting their new IGNITE game engine . They look good. Not in-game footage, but good. BTW, what is up with the legs in NBA Live?

Patrick Roy, the Colorado Avalanche and "name coaches" in general

Justin Bourne — Tue, 21 May 2013 17:58:02 +0000

Not all successful junior coaches are cut out to coach pro hockey, but a certain type should expect to have an even tougher time: “name” junior coaches. I bring this up in light of the news over the past day or two from Adrian Dater of the Denver Post that Patrick Roy is very likely [...]

Colangelo relieved of GM duties but extended as President

Joseph Casciaro — Tue, 21 May 2013 15:41:22 +0000

In a dizzying chain of events that it seems only Toronto sports fans have been forced to get used to, the Raptors announced on Tuesday morning that Bryan Colangelo would be relieved of his General Manager duties while maintaining the seemingly higher position of team President. The exact terms of Colangelo’s new contract aren’t known [...]

The Jets could name their starting quarterback before training camp

Sean Tomlinson — Tue, 21 May 2013 18:36:40 +0000

It seems what once looked impossible may now be true, and the Jets really do care about our mental well being. Frankly, I’m not sure if this world is ready for a full-blown Jets quarterback competition that stretches deep into the August sun. Such an event would prompt end times, and the very Earth on [...]

The State of Analytics: What if we lived in a world where we were all forced to bet on football?

Richard Whittall — Tue, 21 May 2013 17:57:39 +0000

The season is over, and some of the model assessments among the soccer analytics community are starting to trickle in. Martin Eastwood is first out of the gate, whose eponymous index was included in Counter Attack’s Friday Football Predictions model comparison. It turns out the Index did rather well: Looking at Figure 1 you can [...]

Best laughs -- Joakim Noah dancing or DeAndre Jordan dunking on an unsuspecting reporter?

Trey Kerby — Tue, 21 May 2013 19:30:32 +0000

It’s silly video showdown time. Here’s your your first option — Joakim Noah vibing out to “Pump Up the Jam” with some bros and lady bros. Or choice two — DeAndre Jordan combining memes while dunking on ESPN’s Charissa Thompson. Personally, I’m going with Joakim Noah, but that’s mostly because he’s the best and watching [...]

The Getting Blanked Podcast #131: Diamonds in the Rough

Drew Fairservice — Tue, 21 May 2013 18:51:11 +0000

Ever hear of Clayton Kershaw? Miguel Cabrera? BARRY BONDS? If not, get ready for a real education at the hands of the Getting Blanked podcast, as we uncover these gems and more in discussing the baseballing world at large. Listen to the podcast directly here. Subscribe to Getting Blanked on iTunes to ensure the podcast, [...]

And Thus Concluded The Internet: Working For A Golf Company Is The Rad

Dustin Parkes — Thu, 16 May 2013 20:14:55 +0000

During my summers off while I was in university, I had a range of horrible jobs: laborer at a gun factory, framer for a residential development, junior member of a concrete cutting crew. During breaks from the often exhausting and always demoralizing duties, I would sit around with the other workers, and together, we’d remind [...]

The XBOX Reveal live blog

Scott Johnson — Tue, 21 May 2013 16:11:16 +0000

**** REFRESH TO UPDATE! **** 2:12PM ET And that’s it from the Xbox Reveal. We’ll post some more high quality screens in a separate post after Microsoft puts it on-demand. 2:05PM ET An exclusive look from Wired on the design of the Xbox One: 1:58PM ET What in the hell is up with Ricky Rubio’s [...]

Backhand Shelf Podcast: Wings pass Hawks, Sens surprise Pens, Sharks get one and more

Justin Bourne — Tue, 21 May 2013 16:46:37 +0000

The long weekend is over, and it’s time to get back to talkin’ puck. We discussed: * Game three between the Wings and Hawks * What to expect going forward * Torey Krug and the Bruins * Lundqvist giving up five (not common) * Sharks beat Kings * Sens beat Pens * And much more [...]

Reports: Colangelo moving to business side as MLSE pursues Ujiri

Joseph Casciaro — Mon, 20 May 2013 17:49:16 +0000

After weeks of virtually nothing happening, the Bryan Colangelo saga and ensuing search for a possible replacement has really ramped up this long weekend. With today being the deadline for Maple Leaf Sports and Entertainment to make a decision on Colangelo, we seem to be reaching a climax… The MLSE had been negotiating with Raptors [...]

The Tape Never Lies: Armond Armstead's upside is through the roof

Alen Dumonjic — Tue, 21 May 2013 16:55:20 +0000

Type Armond Armstead’s name into YouTube, and you’ll stumble upon a six-minute clip that highlights the talent of the 22-year-old defensive lineman. As expected, there are plays of hell-raising, and backfield penetration throughout the video. It’s supposed to be that way — it’s a highlight film after all — and then once you watch a [...]

The top ten things Tony Pulis' Stoke gave to the world of football

Richard Whittall — Tue, 21 May 2013 16:25:04 +0000

Tony Pulis’ brand of football hearkened back to the bad old days (or good depending on your footballing preferences) of Graham Taylor’s Watford, long-ball, hoof and chase approach, so it’s more than fitting to tribute him with that oldest and hoariest of Internet traditions: the listicle. Here are ten fairly random and subjectively chosen things [...]

The Pick-and-Pop: Checking back on the wackiest predictions of the NBA preseason

Andrew Unterberger — Tue, 21 May 2013 18:30:05 +0000

Remember at the beginning of the NBA season, when I wrote an article tracking the boldest predictions made by some notable basketball prognosticators for the year to come? Probably not, but I sure haven’t forgotten, and with the conference finals finally underway, every one of the predictions mentioned in that article has officially either come [...]

The Battle of Los Angeles: Week 8

Riley Breckenridge — Tue, 21 May 2013 18:01:02 +0000

Hey, y’all. It’s that time again. LET’S DISSECT SOME SHITTY BASEBALLING! Before we start, I’d suggest that you loop this and listen to it whilst reading because … ugh. The Week That Was LAA – 3-3 LAD - 3-3 Southern California’s Burgeoning Pissing Contest: The Leader In The Clubhouse You know what? Maybe this section [...]

Sports The Good: The Path Less Traveled

Dustin Parkes — Wed, 15 May 2013 18:07:11 +0000

If a man loses pace with his companions, perhaps it is because he hears a different drummer. Let him step to the music which he hears, however measured, or far away. - Henry David Thoreau There is an eleven-year-old girl to whom I look up. Her name is Keila Penner, and she lives in Lachine, [...]

NFL Rookie wears hat of rival team in video and fans go crazy

Scott Johnson — Tue, 21 May 2013 13:58:09 +0000

This falls under the category of stuff you just don’t do. Keenan Allen, a rookie wide receiver who got drafted by the San Diego Chargers last month has some fans upset after sporting an Oakland Raiders (rival team) hat in a video he made on Vine. Allen hit up the In-N-Out burger joint and decided [...]

Scrappy, under-talented Pavel Datsyuk continues to thrive through hard work

Justin Bourne — Tue, 21 May 2013 15:23:55 +0000

I mean, the guy does works extremely hard, but come on, Healy. Datsyuk is Earth’s Most Talented Human as far as I’m concerned. I understand not wasting time to bicker over a passing comment, but wow – that is some passing comment. (S/t @HarrisonMooney)

Report: Raptors Target Masai Ujiri

Joseph Casciaro — Sat, 18 May 2013 15:50:43 +0000

On Friday we learned from Doug Smith that the Raptors have until Monday to decide whether or not to pick up Bryan Colangelo’s option for next season. Smith also reported that Tim Leiweke and Maple Leaf Sports and Entertainment have hired a search firm to narrow down a list of potential Colangelo successors. Two names [...]